Conflicting Hearts
by Lady Songie
Summary: The Uchihas went through with their coup, throwing Konoha into an array and civil war, dividing the village in half. Love will bloom on the battlefield, but can it be enough to conquer the hate in their hearts? Kagami, Naruto and Sasuke will bring an end to this war, somehow...though will their feelings for each other get in the way? Or aid their case? OC x Canon / CanonxOCxCanon
1. Chapter 1 - Hajimemashita

**Conflicting Hearts**

* * *

 **A/N** : One time for the one time. This is CLEAR OCxCanon (maybe even CanonxOCxCanon) fanfic. We all need to live out our inner fangirls. This is an AU Naruto story. There are things that may or may not be aligned with Naruto-lore and things of the like. If you do not LIKE or DESPISE OC stories, go ahead and please leave and not give the story a chance. I appreciate any suggestions or reviews that are meaningful and not downright trashy/negative. Honestly, we have enough of that offline. I'm saying this once:

I don't own Naruto or anything. I own the OCs. This story I'm working on a whim, but trying to get it together as best as I can. (I'm juggling 10 fanfics, sue me)

Also note, this may or may not become a love triangle so if you're also not into those, you may not want to continue. I'm still teeter-tottering on it. OK.

Thank you so much for giving this story a time of day. I really appreciate it!

* * *

"I can't believe it's your first day!" A teenage girl had squealed, nearly jumping up and down from excitement. Her tied hair had flown with her, moving gracefully as she moved herself to the little girl. Pouting, the little girl shook her head as she tightened the straps on her hips. "I'm not. I'm perfectly fine staying home and learning here." She huffed, though the teenage girl laughed. "C'mon Kagami. That's no attitude to have. You're going to meet all the other kids your age and see what they're capable of." Groaning, the girl had sat down after the two blades behind her were strapped on tightly, putting her sandals on. "I guess. I still think I can just stay home."

"Now now, Kagami. Listen to your sister on this one. You'll get to know all the other kids that may be your potential teammates. I know that the Uchiha's kid is going today as well." He joked, the teenage girl, known as Okani, squealed once more. "Does that mean that Itachi-san will be there? You know, to give Sasuke-kun a sendoff to school?!" She questioned, receiving a sigh from Kagami. The young girl knew that her older sister was crushing entirely on the older Uchiha brother and that she took every opportunity she could to see him. After all, they were both jounins, though they were on separate teams. Every moment she saw him, she immediately felt drawn to him somehow.

"He might be. You know those two are usually together." Their father, a rather built middle-aged man with short-cut dark purple hair, replied. He had been dressed in a male's yukata, traditional wear was the norm in the Abaharashi Clan. With another cheer from Okani, the two girls had set off, their father waving at them. "Have a nice day."

Kagami had walked normally compared to her sister who was going on about what to do if she sees Itachi. "Should I ask him to breakfast? Oh!? Should I try to pass Sasuke-kun off to you? Ahhh! What if we walk next to each other while walking you both!?" Sighing, Kagami shook her head, wanting to hear no more of her sister's possible interaction with Itachi. Her sister had been a good foot taller than she was, her lighter purple, almost lavender, colored hair shimmered in the sunlight. She had it up in a high ponytail, wearing beige shorts and a black sweater than hugged her body. She wore her headband in a traditional manner, covering her forehead. Normally the girl would carry her katana that would rest behind her and sit at her lower back, but she had no reason to bring it today. As her sister continued on, Kagami tried to drown her sister out by focusing her attention elsewhere.

Sure, they were close with the family, but that was only because they were one of the top customers for their family business. They were one of the most powerful clans in the village, as they were the special forces police for Konoha. Naturally, the weapons provider and task force should be well acquainted. The Abaharashi had other connections with the other clans, though none were as well connected as these two.

The Abaharashi Clan were excellent in their swordsmanship and craft. Their main selling were various katanas, though their other weaponry were practically on par as well. The steel that they personally mined for, for generations were their strengths and it also didn't help that their fire style jutsus were also a wonder. They had been the only clan with the idea to incorporate chakra within a fire-style jutsu, something that was ingenious. The Abaharashi clansmen were born with a naturally large internal storage for chakra. Using most of it to sustain them as they used fire-breathing techniques to create the blades they were renowned for, eventually the clan came with the idea of adding chakra to the mix, creating the blue flames.

Regardless of this, Kagami didn't seem to realize just what was exactly expected of her. Her only sibling Okani was to be the heir of the clan, seeing as they were the only two children of the head household. Everyone had expected that Okani would be this person, seeing as her whole life she was prepared to do so. Exceling at the Academy, become a successful chuunin, now jounin, it seemed that her sister's excellence only grew.

Unlike her.

Kagami didn't have the praise of her parents or other clansmen's interest. When she would enter a room, she would be greeted and shown respect as she was still the daughter of the clan leader, however, when her sister would enter it seemed all eyes and attention were at her beckon call. At first the young sister couldn't help but be jealous. Trying to either make herself weaker than her sister to gain pity, or even to do silly things to get the attention she longed for. Regardless, she chose to accept that this was her fate; to be the second-rate daughter of the Abaharashi clan. Accepting this, she pushed forward, wanting to grow stronger to atleast be of use to her clan in the future…to help with her sister when she became the new clan leader.

"Ah, there they are!" Okani had cheerfully said as she waved to the two Uchiha brothers walking just across from them. "Itachi-san!" She called out, grabbing the raven head's attention who waved back, halting his little brother to allow the two girls to meet with them.

"Ah, Okani-san. Kagami-chan. Heading to the academy?" He questioned, giving a small smile to both girls. Okani had practically swooned as she nodded her head quickly. Kagami sighed to herself as she looked at the taller Uchiha. "You must be excited right? Since it's your first day and all." He said to her, though in response, she huffed. Her older sister, seemingly embarrassed by her behavior, wanted to hit the girl. "It's nothing special. I would prefer to just study at home." Kagami had admitted seriously.

A chuckle escaped Itachi as he listened to the girl's response. He had always found the youngest daughter of the Abaharashi to be kept to herself. In fact, it was interesting that she was such a distant child, yet his brother had been the opposite. Sasuke was always clinging to him, wanting to go everywhere, train all the time with him. He was even excited to go to the academy to learn about new things that he didn't learn with Itachi. Smiling to himself, Itachi looked down to see Sasuke staring at the young Kagami. "Sasuke. Aren't you going to say hello?" His older brother teased. Sasuke nodded and lifted a hand as a greeting.

"It's been awhile, Kagami-chan." He said, getting the girl's attention. Her bright sunset colored eyes looked at him as she nodded. "It hasn't been that long." She corrected him, though Itachi couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sure you guys will have a great time at the academy. I remember when your sister was in my class." Itachi said to the smaller girl. The group had started to walk and talk, continuing their conversation which seemed to keep the younger kids' attention.

"Ahh. Those were the easy days." Okani had said, her hands held themselves behind her back. "Yes. Not that many missions. Only D or C rank." "With only having to worry about getting better." She chimed with him, as they both nodded and laughed amongst themselves. Before they knew it, Sasuke and Kagami had walked ahead of the two as they chatted, deciding to talk amongst themselves.

"Whose class are you in?" Kagami had asked, tilting her head slightly to look at him. The raven-haired boy was slightly taller than she, wearing his usual high-collared blue shirt with beige shorts. She hadn't seen the boy for a couple of weeks. Granted, the two did live at different ends of the village and she only really saw him when her father would make her come to understand how their relationship was with the Uchihas.

There were a couple of times where she would see the two brothers together, whether for training to just hanging around. She had joined them a handful of times, though she realized that she was mostly there to listen to them.

Sasuke had turned to Kagami, giving her his attention as he replied, "Iruka-sensei. How about you?" Her brows lifted as she gasped, "Me too. That's good to know I'll know one person." She said thankfully. When the group had reached the gates of the school, Itachi and Okani had stopped in their tracks, grinning to their younger siblings. "Alright you guys. This is where we say, see ya!" Okani said cheerfully as Kagami shook her head, knowing that her sister was going to try and spend her free time with the older Uchiha. Itachi looked at Sasuke and said to him, "Have a good day today." Sasuke nodded, and turned on his heel, Kagami looking at her sister as she continued to smile at her. "Go on." Okani urged her until finally she followed Sasuke.

"Say, Itachi-san?"

"Hm?"

"What do you say to breakfast? If you're not busy or anything." Okani's blush seemed to surface as she asked. Her eyes trailed to look at him, seeing as he smiled to her.

"I've already eaten…but we can grab something small." He suggested, earning a quick nod as she grabbed his hand and pulled him along to leave.

* * *

The two children had entered the classroom, seeing it half-full of some familiar and unfamiliar faces. Sasuke had been bombarded with some girls of the class that found him utterly cute while he attempted to make his way to the back corner of the class. Kagami, meanwhile, looked around and saw a couple of people she recognized.

"Ah! Shikamaru-kun, Kiba-kun." She waved to them, bringing the two boys from their conversation with each other to give her a slight wave.

"So, you're in this class too, huh." Shikamaru said, the girl nodding, replying, "Who would've thought we would all be in the same class."

"Atleast we'll have friends amongst the losers." Kiba tried to joke, though Kagami folded her arms across her chest. "That's mean. Who are the losers?" She questioned, watching his eyes travel to the group of girls that surrounded Sasuke as he made his way to finally sit in the top corner of the class.

"You better be talking about the girls." Sounding as if to warn them, Shikamaru smirked, joking with her. "Why? You don't think Sasuke is a loser?"

Kagami shook her head. "He's just minding his own business. Plus, the girls clearly have their heads with fantasy and not with being a shinobi." She huffed. Both boys chuckled, knowing it would get a rise out of the violet haired girl. "Alright, alright. Everyone take a seat." A booming voice came through the sliding door. A tall man with a scar across his nose came, walking with a notebook of a sort as he moved to the head of the class. The girl quickly moved to sit at the top with Sasuke, wanting to enjoy the breeze of the opened window that was next to him.

Sasuke looked at her, whispering, "Why are you next to me? Don't you wanna sit with your friends." He motioned to Kiba and Shikamaru, but the girl leaned over, whispering back, "Nah. Kiba will eventually annoy me and we'll both get on Shikamaru's nerves. Plus," She pointed at the window, "There's the nice breeze you have here." He stared at her for a second, before shaking his head, giving up on picking on her seating preference.

"Okay…let's here who's here..." Iruka had begun calling out names for roll, the students waiting to hear the names on who was going to be in their class. Kagami had been the first name on the list, waving her hand slightly to gesture to herself. Onwards the name calling went, that is, until the door slammed open.

Huffing and puffing, a certain infamous blonde boy had walked in. He had been covered in paint on his clothes and face, though that didn't stop him from grinning at the teacher. "I made it on time!" He said aloud, though some students laughed, Iruka had been the one yelled at him. "On time?! You're late, Naruto! Go sit down!" The teacher scolded him, Naruto shrugging, making a mean face at the jounin and moved to take a seat at the other end of class, sitting himself in the middle of an empty row.

Kagami had watched Naruto as he took his seat. The young Abaharshi girl never met him personally or talked to him. Her father had told her to avoid him, saying it was 'best not to get close' though she never understood why. Sure, maybe it was because he was always causing a ruckus wherever he went, or maybe because he was pranking everyone that he became a pain in the ass to all the jounins. Whatever the case, Kagami didn't see anything wrong with it. He was an orphan, losing both his parents and had no one on his side. If anything, Kagami had felt sorry for the blonde.

Drawing her thoughts to a close, she turned to Iruka who had begun the lesson for the day. Sighing, she propped an elbow on the desk, resting her cheek on her open hand as she listened boringly to the lecture.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Finally!" Kiba stretched, reaching his hands to the air as class had finally ended. "Hey, want to go play at the park?" He asked Shikamaru, who nodded. "Sure, why not?" He said. The two had started to leave as he turned to Kagami who moved down the steps and headed to the door. "Oi, Kagami. Wanna play with us at the park?" Kiba asked, though the girl shook her head.

"Sorry. My sister is waiting for me." She told them, and they nodded, heading out first. Sasuke had walked behind Kagami, seeing her turn her head to see if Naruto had left the classroom as well, which he did. She didn't even recall him leaving that quick.

"Oi, watch where you're going." Sasuke said, watching as she stumbled over herself. He managed to grab her arm to stop her from falling forward, though Kagami chuckled to herself. "Sorry sorry."

The girls had continued to call Sasuke from behind, though he made no effort to turn around. "Your fangirls are calling you." Kagami joked, though the Uchiha shrugged. "I'm not going back there. They'll hold me up for the rest of the night." A small laugh escaped the girl as she nodded. "You're probably right. Ah, there's Itachi-san."

Itachi had been leaning against the school's outer fence, waiting to pick up his little brother. "Ah." The older Uchiha said to himself as he waved at the two kids who walked towards him. Kagami had waved, though Sasuke gave him a nod.

"Kagami-chan. Your sister wanted me to tell you she couldn't get you from school. She got called on a mission earlier." He told her. "Oh…" Kagami said, trying to hide the disappointment in her tone. She had wanted to tell her sister about class and who she had. Itachi, noticing the young girl's change in expression, had offered her, "We can walk you back home if you want." The girl looked up, smiling softly and shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'll see you guys tomorrow?" Itachi nodded. "Okani-san said that to come by and pick you up and take you to school." The girl pouted. "Okani-neesan thinks I'm small and helpless but I am not!"

Itachi laughed, shaking his head. "But…if she _**said**_ so, then I guess it's…okay." Kagami gave up, the older Uchiha nodded his head. "Okay. Then we'll see you tomorrow." He turned, Sasuke nodded, saying to her, "See you."

Kagami gave him a small wave, saying back, "See you."

Sighing, the young girl started to walk home, taking her sweet time. Her home was further away than the Uchiha's complex, so it was a miracle that they would come to pick her up. _'Maybe Itachi-san does like Okani-neesan…'_ The young girl told herself as she walked. The sun had begun to set behind her, seeing her shadow grow darker in front of her.

"S-Stop!" She had heard a faint cry. Kagami halted herself, straining herself to listen for the cry once more. "I said stop! Leave me alone!" There it was again. This had made the girl bolt, running towards the sound she heard. Turning the fenced corner, she saw that there was a bench and forest clearing behind. The voice had gotten a little louder as she ran, realizing it was coming from the forest.

Hopping the fence that separated the woods from the dirt road, Kagami darted. She saw a familiar blonde hair on the ground, holding himself as three kids, seemingly larger than the boy and herself picking on the small boy. "See? That's what you get for letting that kid go." "Yeah! You're so annoying why don't you just **die**." One boy said menacingly. Kagami, shaking her head stepped forward, yelling at the boys. "Oi! Leave that boy alone!" The three looked, seeing the young violet hair girl with her hands on her hips. The boys started to laugh, seeing the small girl speak up to them. "Why don't you go home and play with your dolls." "Yeah! Mind your business." They teased her. Scoffing, Kagami had yelled again, "I'm telling you right now! You better quit it or you'll get hurt." She tried to warn them, though they looked at her. "Hurt _us?"_ One boy questioned, laughing at her statement.

Kagami nodded. She had reached for one of her small daggers that rested behind her on a holster that made an 'X' on her front. "That's right! So you better quit it!" Her hand gripped the handle of the dagger, slowly pulling it out, and the boys realized that she was serious.

"C-C'mon guys! We don't need to bother with a psycho and a loser!" One boy said, motioning for the other two to follow suit. "Y-Yeah! You'll regret this!" Another had said before the three ran off. Sighing, the girl let go of the blade and hurried over to the blonde.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked, the boy pulling from his huddled position to reveal that it was a familiar face.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Kagami gasped. The boy, raising a brow asked. "You know me?"

The girl nodded. "We're both in Iruka's class together. I was sitting next to Sasuke." She told him, Naruto pondering the idea. "Ah! I remember."

The girl stood up, offering him a hand to help him to his feet. "Anyways. Are you okay? What happened between you guys?" She questioned. Naruto's hand reached out, taking hers as she helped him to his feet. He dusted himself as he told her, "I'm okay. They were picking on some kid for his money, so I stopped them. The kid got away, luckily, but well…" He trailed off, the girl understanding the rest of the story. "I see."

"But, thank you! That was the first time someone had actually stopped to help me." He admitted to her, Kagami furrowing her brows in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked him. Naruto sighed, recalling other times where he was attacked by other kids on several other occasions. "A lot of other kids jump me sometimes. I always yell for someone to help since the kids are bigger than me, but no one seems to come." He explained.

The girl looked saddened, feeling pity for the boy that was her age. "That's terrible." She told him, though he shrugged. "I mean, everyone avoids me, so now I just wait until they get bored of beating me up." Biting her lip, Kagami looked at him, her eyes full of compassion as she told him. "That's not right! Look, if someone picks on you again, you tell me! I'll beat them up for you!" She told him. The blonde simply blinked at her response before grinning widely. He had suddenly felt his stomach in knots, feeling…happy that someone had something so kind for once.

"You're funny. You don't have to—"

"No! It's not right for other kids to do that! Don't worry, I, Abaharashi Kagami shall make sure that you, Uzumaki Naruto will not be bullied by those losers!" The girl placed a fist on her heart, as if to pledge.

"Abaharashi…wait! You're…you're Abaharashi Kagami?!" Naruto exclaimed, the girl looked at him and nodded. "Yeah. So?"

"So?! Your otou-san is one of the best weapons maker in the entire village!" She nodded. "Yep."

"Woah…that's cool." He told her, earning a laugh from her. "You're funny, Naruto-kun." The girl smiled, motioning for them to leave.

"It's nice to meet you though…I gotta get going. I might get scolded for coming home late." Kagami told him, Naruto nodded. "O-okay, Kagami-chan. I'll see you tomorrow?"

She nodded as the two left the forest area and got back to the dirt road. "See you!" She waved to him as she ran off, heading back home.

It was too bad her sister wouldn't be home tonight to listen to her stories of today.


	2. Chapter 2 - Clash

Conflicting Hearts

* * *

A month had gone by as quick as it came.

The Academy lessons seemed as boring and uninteresting as ever. Iruka had continued to teach the class about how to use the right amount of chakra per jutsu, and how it was the key to any ninjutsu. Naturally, Kagami had learned about this already by learning from her family and watching her sister, Okani, train with her father when she was younger. Her sister was five years older than Kagami, who was only twelve years old currently. Sasuke and Itachi had been similar years apart as the two Abaharashi sisters, seemingly a coincidence, though their birthdays were during the oddest times of the year.

As the lessons went and gone, only performing a few examples in class, Kagami found herself dozing off most of the time. In fact, both she and Sasuke had known to doze off during class, finding the lessons usually to be refreshers for them. They were in prominent shinobi families, it was only natural that they knew the things they were being taught in class. Kagami had actually found out a few days into the academy that Sasuke didn't want to go either. Sharing the same sentiment, the two sat next to each other from then on, talking here and there during class. During lunch she would go off with either Kiba and Shikamaru or sit with Naruto who seemed to find himself with little to no lunch at all.

Sasuke had found this to be interesting as he would hear the girls that would coddle him talk about Kagami, gossiping on why she was eating with the annoying Naruto or being nice to him. Though Sasuke had only listened and never intervened during the girls' chatter, he knew that it was just Kagami being a nice person. She had told him about the incident regarding Naruto where he was getting bullied and that's how she ended up becoming familiar with the blonde. Though Sasuke didn't ask or care, he did find it brave of the girl to take on older boys who were being jerks.

Aside from those things, the days went on seemingly in a routine.

Today, however, the class lessons seemed to finally step up to something new. Iruka had clapped his hands together, bringing attention to himself as the idle chatting died down, all the kids looking at him.

"Okay class. Today we're going to put everything I've been talking about into some practice. We're going to do some sparring today." He announced, the class booming to whispers and random comments that flew around. For once, Kagami and Sasuke had been listening, their interests piquing. The violet hair girl turned to the raven, smiling. "Finally! We can do something that doesn't involve just sitting around all day." She said confidently, earning a nod from Sasuke. "Good. I've been wanting to find out where everyone is at with their skills." He told her. Truthfully, Sasuke was curious to see how Kagami would fair in a battle. The two were well aware of their family's background and their powers and seeing as Kagami was one of the most prominent family that he was extremely familiar with, save for the Hyuugas whom were strong family were also, he wanted to see where she sat with her skills. Sasuke had been training with Itachi for a long time now, begging his brother to help him get stronger whenever he was free. The raven was simply wondering if Kagami was the same.

"Alright alright. Let's all head out to the yard. Single file, let's go!" Iruka called out, the class quickly getting up and lining up at the door, waiting for Iruka to take the lead. Sasuke had been behind Kagami, who was behind Naruto, behind someone else. She tapped on Naruto's shoulder, getting his attention. The blonde, who wore a white t-shirt with an orange design on the front and black shorts turned, grinning as he saw a familiar face. "Kagami-chan! Are you ready for the sparring?" She nodded, smiling rather big. Out of all the girls, she seemed to be the most excited. "I can't wait to see where everyone is at! It's going to be fun." She cheerfully told him, finally moving forward as Iruka lead the class out into the halls and towards the yard.

The yard was rather large, having some straw-dummy targets, and various trees surrounding them as the school left behind. Kagami had wondered to herself if she would have to fight against any of her friends, such as Shikamaru or Kiba. She knew the two of them were pretty good when it came to fighting, knowing that their clans were rather strong and popular as well, though she had never seen them in action. _'What if I have to fight Naruto-kun? Or worse…'_ She told herself as she stood, lined up with the rest of the class. Iruka looked to the class and called for their attention.

"Okay. We're just going to go through everyone just to see where we all stand. This will give me a better understanding on where you guys are with your studying and training. So let's start with…uh…Shikamaru-kun and…Chouji-kun. Why don't you guys go ahead and start us off?" Iruka had told the two, who nodded.

"No weapons. We'll see how your hand-to-hand combat skills are. Goes for everyone else. Alright. Ready….begin!" He threw his hand up, the two going towards each other. Oohs and ahhs had escaped the class whenever one would dodge or land a good blow on the other. Naruto would throw a hand up, cheering them on. Kagami had found it interesting that Naruto was pretty into the fight, cheering on the two as they exchanged hits.

Kagami watched in silence, watching Shikamaru's movements as he had moved gracefully compared to his opponent. Eventually, the spar ended with Shikamaru proving to be the victor. "Good job, Shika-kun!" Kagami cheered, though the boy only shrugged. "Yes, good job, Shikamaru-kun. Your skills excellent. Chouji-kun, you did your best, though maybe it isn't your strong suit." Iruka suggested. Chouji was quick to retreat back into the group and open a bag of chips he brought out with him, not bothered by the teacher's comment.

"Alright. Next…how about…Naruto-kun and Kiba-kun?"

"Yes!" Naruto shouted, shooting a fist into the air. Kiba grinned to himself, figuring that it would be a piece of cake. _'With how Naruto is…this should be easy.'_ The Inuzuka kid told himself mentally as he and Naruto stepped out from the line. "Ready. Begin!" Iruka signaled them.

The punches and kicks came mostly from Kiba. Naruto had dodged or blocked most of it, but managed to take some hits. Frowning, Kagami had saw this and yelled out, cheering on the blonde, "C'mon Naruto-kun! Kick his butt!" Kiba looked over to the sunset colored eyes girl who seemed to be determined to cheer on the blonde. Naruto, noticing Kiba's sudden distraction, took this moment to land a punch to his left cheek. "Why you—!" Kiba yelled, throwing out more hits as payback for Naruto's hit. Seemingly inspired by Kagami's cheer, he managed to block the hits.

"Naruto-kun can really take the hits." Kagami said to herself out loud as she watched him. Sasuke, meanwhile, had watched the blonde. _'He's not even hitting back. He's forced to be defensive.'_ He said to himself as he watched. The sparring went on for a good ten minutes before finally, the two seemed to be on their last leg. Naruto, who had been hailed with hits from Kiba, weakly stood, his stance showing he was still ready to take any hits the other boy had. Kiba, on the other hand, had breathed heavily, tired from his constant attacking on the boy. Iruka had noticed the two and their condition. Before they made any other move to attack each other, he called it.

"That's it! You both did well. Though you did not attack enough, Naruto-kun, your defense was superb. Kiba-kun, you did well with your attacks, not allowing Naruto to fight throughout that is a great strategy. With enough practice, you could make that a strong point." He advised the two, who nodded. Surprisingly, Kiba had went to Naruto and shook his hand. "Good fight."

Naruto, surprised as well, nodded, grinning as he usually did. "Yeah, good fight."

"You're hard to break through. We should train sometime." Kiba suggested, making the blonde grin even wider. He was surprised that someone had actually wanted to spend time with him and not beat him up. If anything, this seemed like a stepping stone for the young Uzumaki. "That sounds good with me." He told Kiba, who nodded, the two boys chatting away about nothing at that point. Kagami watched the two, impressed by both their fight styles. ' _I'm glad he has someone to talk to now.'_ She told herself as she watched, smiling, Naruto and Kiba continue to talk with one another.

Iruka looked at the line of people, wanting to see another spar. One girl had perked up from somewhere within the line, saying, "Have a girl fight a boy!" This had gotten a rise out of the class they let out a noise of interest. Kagami nodded, cheering it on. Seeing he had no choice and not wanting to restrict the fights between only boys or only girls, he decided to choose the next combatants. "Okay okay. Sakura-chan and…Sasuke-kun. Why don't you guys come up?" He said. Kagami grinned for Sasuke who only smirked, excited to finally see what his classmate had. Sakura, however, had sheepishly shook her head. "N-No way! I can't fight Sasuke-kun!" She told Iruka, who looked at her confusingly. "Huh?" Was all he could muster.

The girl made no move to step forward, looking at Sasuke before blushing madly and turning to her blonde friend. "I just can't! I love him too much!" She said loudly, earning some yells from other girls and her friend putting an arm over her shoulder, seemingly to help her from her embarrassment. A sigh escaped the raven. He finally got picked to fight and a girl didn't want to fight him because she… _loved him?_ Finding it ridiculous, the Uchiha stood there, waiting for Iruka to pick the next person.

"Okay then…well you're going to have to fight at one point, Sakura-chan. How about—"

"I'll go, sensei."

Eyes travelled to the voice of the young girl who half raised her hand, only bending her arm at her elbow. Kagami volunteered, earning a smirk from Sasuke.

"Ah. Thank you for volunteering, Kagami-chan." Iruka said to the girl, mentally appreciating the fact that she wasn't one of Sasuke's fangirls who adored him. Instead, Kagami had took off her usual holster she wore with her two daggers and handed it to Naruto to hold. "Can you hold this, please?" She asked him, earning a nod as he took the daggers from her carefully.

Kagami stepped into the clearing, facing Sasuke. He was only a few inches taller than her, seemingly ready to fight. The girl smirked herself, her expression changing to one ready to fight. "Time to see what you're made of, Sasuke-kun."

"Same for you, Kagami." The girl had never really noticed, but Sasuke had never used an honorific for her. He was the only one, aside from her father and sister who did that. It was interesting to her, as she realized she had just noticed it now through the sudden change in tone he had as he spoke to her. Nevertheless, she knew that Sasuke was very keen on training hard. In fact, he was one of the most diligent person in her age that was so determined to train hard to improve. It was one of the few traits she had admired about him.

Iruka had looked at the two, sensing the air about them change drastically before he called the match to start. _'These two are dead serious right now.'_ He said to himself as he yelled, "Ready…begin!" His hand thrown into the air as the two went quickly in for each other.

"Woah…" Naruto said out loud, watching as his friend fight his unannounced rival. Of course, he had rooted for Kagami to win, seeing as he couldn't stand Sasuke. He found the raven to be…utterly…he couldn't even find a word to describe him. Perhaps stuck-up? He had a sense of coolness to him, something Naruto definitely lacked. He was followed by girls constantly, being praised by them, and it didn't help that on the other hand, they would yell at Naruto for being an idiot. It was frustrating, as Sasuke had never said anything to the girls. It had seemed that he was only ever interested in talking to Kagami, though she had always sat next to him during class. Did he like her or something? Or was he just overthinking it? Regardless, watching the two fight now seemed…amazing.

"It's almost as if…" Kiba said lowly, watching in amazement to the two's skills.

"…as if they're dancing." Shikamaru finished for the Inuzuka. Naruto nodded in agreement. The blows the two exchanged had equal force behind it. Sasuke would throw a punch to her right, with Kagami pushing his fist away from her, and fire back a punch of her own. They would punch, kick, and eventually had found themselves jumping back and forth to fight mid-air.

The class had found themselves amazed that not only was the Uchiha-clan's kid fighting so well, which was never a surprise to most, but the Abaharashi-clan's kid also did just as well. They were in-sync with one another as they exchanged blows, showing the fire and determination. Finally, Sasuke had thrown a right hook while they were mid-air. Instead of pushing it away with an open palm as she did before Kagami pulled herself close to the raven, using her left hand to grab his wrist that threw the hit and her right to hold his upper arm, close to his shoulder, and throw him downwards towards the ground.

Sasuke, meanwhile, hadn't expect the girl to pull herself close, seeing as they were at a good distance from each other as they threw hits left and right. He had let his guard down for a moment, comfortable with how she was fighting at that moment. His back hit the grass as she landed herself swiftly on-top of his, standing above him with her legs on each side of him.

"Looks like, ." Kagami grinned, breathing heavily and sweating as she looked down at the Uchiha. Staring at her in disbelief, the Uchiha, somewhat angry at himself, scoffed, finding her cockiness annoying. Instead of moving away, Kagami had reached a hand out to him, offering to help him up.

"But it was a great fight. You're really strong you know." She told him, grinning widely. Sasuke, stared at her face, then at her hand before taking her offer. The girl helped him to his feet, and the two moved back to their place in line.

Iruka, amazed by the two, clapped. "Good job both of you! You both did very well. I would say that's one of the best fights I've seen so far." Some students had agreed vocally. Iruka had eventually moved on to the next match, apparently choosing Sakura and her blonde friend Ino to fight one another.

Meanwhile, Kagami had sat down to take a breather, as some other students did as well while waiting for their turns. Sasuke sat down as well beside her. In truth, Kagami was surprised that she managed to take down Sasuke with that move. She had taken the opportunity, hoping that it wouldn't backfire since she knew that their fight might have gone longer than anticipated. In fact, she actually thought she was going to lose to him. _'I'm happy that I got to see how he is though. I'm surprised I kept up as long as I did.'_ Complementing herself, Kagami looked at Sasuke, who had been watching the fight with a dull expression.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun?" She called to him. The raven turned his head, looking at her as she spoke. "I'm glad I got to fight you today." She admitted. Sasuke had nodded in agreement.

"I am too actually." He admitted. The violet girl raised a brow, questioning, "Really?"

He nodded his head and looked back at Sakura and Ino's fight, which seemed to be going rather slow.

"Yeah. Itachi talks about how your sister's training is and how she says that you train a lot at home. Sometimes even with her." A small blush came to Kagami's cheeks, thinking on how her older sister had talked about her.

"Y-yeah. I try to get Okani-neesan to help me whenever she's free. She's never easy though and always beats me up, but it's good. I feel like I grow stronger each time I train with her." She explained.

"Hm. I ask oniisan too when he's free. I guess we're similar in that sense." He told her, which she nodded. "I guess so."

Silence fell between the two as they continued to watch. Kagami had turned to Naruto, getting her daggers back from him as he forgotten he was holding onto it for her. "You did amazing, Kagami-chan."

He complimented her, smiling. Kiba, next to him, peeked his head over and nodded. "Yeah! You were really cool, Kagami-chan." Kagami smiled sheeply, as she held onto the daggers. "Thanks, you guys. It means a lot." She told them.

* * *

For the next few hours of class, the sparring went on until finally the last match had been concluded.

"Alright class. In a few months will be your final tests. Remember to practice your skills and the next few things we'll be learning. You're going to spar again with the same person you fought with today, just to show how you've progressed as part of the exam. See you tomorrow!" Iruka had said to the class, finally dismissing them.

Kagami had stood quickly, stretching her legs out and strapping back on her daggers. She was happy to think that they would be soon over and done with the academy and would be placed into their squads soon enough. They would officially be genin and start going on missions. Once she felt comfortable enough, she had started to walk through the academy, heading towards the main entrance to leave. "Ah! Kagami-chan!" Naruto called out to the girl, who stopped and turned, about to step off the academy grounds.

"Hm?"

"Kiba, Shikamaru and I are going to get some ramen at Ichiraku's, do you wanna come?" He said, motioning to the two who waited at the entrance waiting to leave. She shook her head. "It's okay. Maybe next time?" The girl told him. Pouting playfully Naruto said, 'okay' and the three boys went off.

Smiling to herself, Kagami started to walk again, seeing Sasuke walking off as well. She had noticed that Itachi wasn't there to pick him up today, so she decided to call out, "Sasuke-kun!"

The raven turned his head, stopping himself to see who was calling his name.

"Kagami?"

"No Itachi-san today?" She questioned, earning a shake from the boy.

"He's on a mission today."

"I see. How about I walk with you until the split?" She said, referring to the three-way split where she would leave to her estate and he to his. He shrugged, indifference to it.

The two walked together in silence. Kagami had been thinking about their spar that day, finding that they were on even terms practically, save for her finisher. She was amazed by how well Sasuke did, thinking that if they were a duo, that they would be practically impossible to stop.

Sasuke had similar thoughts. He replayed the moves Kagami made, the expression of hers that showed her determination to win. Unlike the other girls who he thought had no gut to fight, Kagami had that fire. Maybe it was because she wasn't lovestruck by him like the other girls were? She could actually hold a decent conversation with him and found training to be utterly important. They were both excited when they were going to spar with others just to see how strong or not so strong their classmates were. If anything, they seemed to have more in common than he would like to admit.

When the two had finally approached the three-way split, Sasuke had moved to head right, and Kagami would move to her left. Before they left, the girl faced Sasuke, calling out to him, "Sasuke-kun?"

The raven turned to her, seeing her face turn into a soft smile as she said, "Let's train together sometime, okay?"

Sasuke nodded in response, turning on his heel to head home. A smirk sprawled across his face as he thought to himself, _'Looks like she beat me to it.'_


	3. Chapter 3 - Training Day

Conflicting Hearts

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for any misspellings or wrong usage. I tend to speed through writing and just post it asap. Considering on a portfolio for this story.

* * *

It was a quiet, sunny morning. The calmness of the day just starting seemed the most ideal time for anyone to get anything done. This was just a guess as Kagami had gotten herself ready, standing in front of the mirror. Changing into her usual magenta top and beige skirt, tightened with a red ribbon that was threaded through the waistband, the young shinobi had worked on getting her hair to cooperate with her. Settling on a loose tying of her hair, she swung it to settle the strands on her right shoulder, tying it with a red ribbon halfway down her hair. Nodding to herself that she was pleased, she worked on getting her holster attached, strapping it onto her hip in its usual 'X' shape, shoving her two daggers behind her into the straps. Taking one last look at herself in the mirror, the girl smiled, pleased.

A soft knock came to her door, a voice calling from the other side.

"Oi, you ready to go? We don't want to keep them waiting." Her sister's voice was heard, earning a, "I'm coming." from Kagami. Moving a few steps, she slid the sliding door, and stepped into the hallway, making her way to the entrance where her sister was standing and waiting for the girl.

"Finally! What, trying to look cute for Sasuke-kun?" Okani teased, earning a huff and small blush from her sister. "Oneesan!"

"Ahh, I kid, I kid." She waved a hand, watching her young sister put on her sandals. Opening the main door, the girls walked outside, seeing a large carriage with a single horse in front. The carriage seemed more of a wagon, seeing that there was only the bench where the driver would sit, and a large piled covered by a large cloth sitting in the bed of the wagon. Kagami let out a small yawn, walking over to her father who was discussing with one of the estate's caretaker, turning to his daughters when they approached.

"Good morning, girls." He greeted them, giving each a smile. They smiled back. "Good morning, otou-san." They said in unison.

Lord Hito looked to his oldest daughter, giving her a look of question. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Okani?"

The girl nodded, waving her hands. "As much as I would _love_ to see Itachi-san, I have to report for a mission in an hour. Besides, Kaga-chan seems eager to go today, since she has no classes." She joked, earning a small hit from her sister. "Oneesan!" She huffed, turning to her dad who chuckled at the girls' banter.

"Alright then. C'mon Kagami, you'll get to see your tou-san in action." He joked with her, motioning for her to climb up to the driver seat. "I suppose." She said to herself, climbing up quickly. Her father followed and grabbed the reins of the horse, motioning for the guards to open the main gates of the estate.

"Alright. Let's get going. See you when you get back, Okani." Lord Hito said to his eldest, who nodded and waved at them as they started to leave.

"Have fun!" Okani cried, waving as she watched them disappear into the distance.

* * *

The Uchiha estate was as large as ever.

Entering the main gates, Lord Hito motioned for the horse to slow its trot, walking gradually. Some stared over to see who was walking through the estate, though most had already guessed on who it was.

Eventually, the man pulled the horse to a halt, arriving at one of the larger complexes within the estate. Outside, a middle age man stood, his hands on his hips.

"Ah, you finally made it, Hito-san." The man called out, walking over to Lord Hito who climbed off the seat and met with the man, greeting him with a firm handshake.

"It has been a while, Fugaku-san." The man nodded, shaking his hand. The man named Fugaku looked over, seeing Kagami climb down to walk up to her father.

"It's been a while, Kagami-chan. I heard you and Sasuke have gotten along well at school." He said to the small girl, who looked up at him and nodded, smiling.

"Yep! He's really good at sparring." She said cheerfully, earning a nod from the man. "I see. Come on in, let's get more comfortable." Fugaku said to the two, leading them into his house and into the meeting room.

The Uchiha's main house, unlike some others, went with the traditional interior. The three sat on tatami mats, the room surrounded by a soft green color. Fugaku and her father made no attempt to waste time, getting straight down to business. Kagami, meanwhile, sat quietly, sitting on her legs with both hands on her lap.

Fugaku's wife, Mikoto, had entered, giving each person a cup of tea before retreating into the kitchen.

"Ah, Kagami-chan. You're so quiet and proper." Fugaku commented, breaking the talk of business briefly to look at the young girl who looked at the cup of tea before her. Her ears perked to her name, looking up to meet Fugaku's eyes.

"Why don't you go see Sasuke and Itachi? They should be in the backyard. I know these adult talks can get rather boring." He tried to tell the girl, knowing how children can get bored easily. Unsure of what to do, since she was bored out of her mind just sitting there, Kagami turned to her father, who gave her a nod. "Go ahead. It's okay." He assured her. Giving a soft smile, she stood up, giving a slight bow to Fugaku. "Please excuse me then." She said softly, turning and sliding the door, closing it behind her as she walked away.

Thankfully for Kagami, she had been to the Uchiha estate countless times before. It was both for business with her father, and her late mother who would talk endlessly with Mikoto about everything and nothing. Walking towards the kitchen, Kagami saw Mikoto, sitting there quietly while drinking a cup of tea.

"Ah, Kagami-chan." The woman turned herself, hearing the footsteps patter against the wooden floors. "Did you need something?" The woman questioned, seeing the girl's orange eyes scan the room. "Ah… I was just going to get my sandals. Is Sasuke-kun outside?" She questioned. Mikoto nodded. "He's outside with Itachi right now. I think they're training." She smiled. "Ah..okay. Excuse me then." Kagami shyly said, moving to leave the kitchen and fetch her sandals, eager to see the Uchiha brothers.

* * *

"Again." Itachi's voice was calm, holding a kunai knife it one hand. His eyes watched his young brother, seeing him pant, sweat dripping from his forehead. Sasuke had his own kunai in hand, readying himself to attack once more.

Since the two woke and ate breakfast, they have been training. Seeing as Sasuke was off from school today and Itachi was free of any work, the two figured why not.

Kagami had her sandals in her hand, walking through the end of the hallway to reveal the backyard. She saw the two, fighting each other with kunais, the sparks from the blades hitting one another. She sat at the edge of the wooden floor, slipping her sandals on as she watched eagerly.

Once the two brothers were apart once more, Itachi straightened himself out, motioning behind Sasuke, who turned, curious on what caught his brother's eye.

"Ohayou!" Kagami said cheerfully, prancing over to the two. She offered both a wave, earning one from Itachi who greeted her first.

"Ohayou, Kagami-chan. Here with your otou-san?" He questioned.

"Yep. But Fugaku-san knew I was kind of bored with it. So, he told me you guys were here." She smiled, turning to Sasuke. Noticing how beat up and tired looking he was, she could only assume he had been training hard.

"Training hard, eh?" She said to him, the raven nodding.

"He's been doing good so far." Itachi told her, putting a hand on his hip. "How about you, Kagami-chan? Do you want to train with us?" He offered, seeing the girl's eyes brighten as she nodded quickly.

"Really? If you don't mind, I'd love to!" Her enthusiasm was a breath of fresh air, looking over to Sasuke who smirked, seeing how excited the girl was.

"Alright. Sasuke, why don't you take a break. We're just practicing with kunais, but you can use your blades if you want." Itachi shifted from Sasuke to Kagami who nodded, preferring to use her own daggers anyways.

Sasuke moved from the two, opting to sit against a tree that had enough shade to cover him from the summer sun. Straightening his legs out, he watched as Kagami took out her one of her blades, holding it similarly how a kunai was held, with the blade closer to her arm.

"Whenever you're ready, come at me." Itachi told her.

A nod was her reply as she readied herself, holding the blade close before running straight at him.

Kunai and dagger clashed, the sounds of metal resonating in the area as the two battled. Kagami had jumped at one more, hiding in the trees only to propel herself towards Itachi, clashing with him and rolling on the grass. She managed to regain her composure, defending as he became the offensive. She wasn't as fast as Itachi was with his strikes, earning a few cuts from his attacks. Wincing as she would receive each one, she jumped back, performing a backflip before readying herself once again.

Itachi's composure, however, shifted as he smiled to her. "That was good. Do you want to take a break?" He asked her, realizing that almost fifteen minutes had gone by. Sweating, the girl nodded, the break sounded amazing since the heat was getting to her.

She moved to sit beside Sasuke, who watched her, seeing the cuts on her arm.

"You did pretty good." He complimented, earning a sigh from the girl. "I wish I was faster though. I thought at one point I was going to lose my concentration and get beat up." She said to him. He shrugged. "You did fine to me. How are your arms?"

Kagami had looked down at the cuts she received, seeing they were extremely shallow cuts, almost as if she was just sliced with paper. "They stung for a moment, but they're fine. Oh," She motioned to Itachi. "Looks like he's waiting for you."

Itachi had put his kunai away, standing in the sun as he waited for his little brother. "C'mon Sasuke. We're going to practice your fire jutsus." He said plainly, earning a nod from the young raven.

Kagami took this time to rest, watching as the two moved a bit further away as to not hit any trees, or worse, herself, with the fire. She watched with fascination at how quick Itachi had done his hand signals. When Sasuke had nodded to his brother, listening to his explanation and advice, he performed the same hand signs.

"Katon: Great Fireball!" He called, performing a perfect fireball jutsu, one that Itachi had dodged but gotten rid of to avoid any damage to the area. Entranced by the Uchiha, she could remember the times when she was younger, first being introduced to the Uchiha family.

She could recall a five-year-old Sasuke, clinging close to his older brother. Kagami on the other hand had walked quietly close to her mother and older sister. Naturally, Okani, who was much more rambunctious than herself, was quick to bother Itachi, drawn by him.

Her father had introduced her for the first time to the family, hearing how she and Sasuke were the same age and would be peers. She thought the boy was cute, though she didn't go crazy or act silly around him. She watched him train with his brother when the adults were talking, having her sister complain beside her that she wanted to play with Itachi but Sasuke kept getting in the way.

In the end, it was only the beginning of their lives together as they would meet every so often because of their parents. Eventually, Kagami had gotten to see how Sasuke grew, both in height and his strength. Once in a while, she would train with Itachi and Sasuke, though she hadn't done so in so many years. Most of her visits weren't long enough to constitute time for her to train, though today seemed to be a different case.

After performing enough fire-style jutsus, Itachi complimented his brother. "Your fire-style is perfected. That's good." His attention turned to Kagami, who seemed to be staring blankly at nothing in particular.

"Kagami-chan?" Itachi called out to her. The girl looked up, Itachi motioning for her to come to him. "Do you want to practice your fire-style too?" He asked her. For a moment, she thought about it. The Uchihas were known for how powerful their fire-style jutsus were. Her family was strong with the fire-style as well, but the only difference was incorporating her chakra into the flames, something that required a lot of concentration and control. She was still practicing and was nowhere near perfect compared to Sasuke.

"Sure. I guess." Was her reply as she stood up, Sasuke moving aside for her to take his place.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had rarely seen the Abaharashi's renowned "blue-flame fire style". Even when he would watch Kagami train or even train with her those years ago, the girl never seemed to use it. He had thought that maybe she didn't learn the skill yet. He was one of the youngest to learn all the fire-style jutsus in his family, yet why had Kagami not? Curious, he eyed the violet haired girl, watching her stand in front of his brother.

"Whenever you're ready." Itachi assured the girl, who nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Kagami focused on her chakra levels, readying herself as she casted similar hand signs. "Katon: Dragon's breath!" She yelled, joining her index and thumb together to make a circle, blowing through it.

Blue flames emerged from her hand that she blew into, grabbing the attention of Itachi and most especially Sasuke.

His eyes watched in surprise as he saw the flames, dancing with a shade of light and dark blue.

His amazement died quickly as the girl released her hands, ending her jutsu as she fell on one knee. Itachi walked over to the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asked, offering her a hand to help her up. She nodded, taking his offer as he helped her to lean against the tree she had been sitting at earlier. Sasuke had moved out of the way of the two, seeing Kagami's exhausted expression.

"Looks like you overdid it." Sasuke said in a snarky tone to the girl, setting himself down beside the girl. It was about mid-afternoon, the heat truly at its peak at this point.

She let out a weak laugh, nodding. Kagami had her legs stretched out, resting her hands on her lap as she rested.

"I guess so. I still struggle with controlling my chakra, but I'll get it down." She told Sasuke, who smirked to himself. Itachi, eyeing his brother, decided to fetch Kagami some water, excusing himself quickly and going into the house.

The two were left alone, resting under the tree that shaded them from the sun's harsh rays.

"You know…I still can't believe you beat me." Sasuke said abruptly, moving himself to sit against the tree right next to Kagami. The girl laughed to herself, closing her eyes as she responded.

"Well, to be fair. If we used any jutsus, I think you would've fried me. Literally." She said, referencing his fire jutsus. To this, Sasuke scoffed, nodding. "You're probably right."

"Though, too be honest. I was really excited." The girl admitted. Sasuke turned to her slightly, seeing her eyes closed as she spoke to him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" She took a deep breath, relaxing herself. "…I mean you know. I wanted to see just how strong you've gotten. We're going to be genin eventually, y'know? We're gonna be put into teams and we may not get to see each other as much. So, you know…I just wanted to see where you were with yourself, I suppose." A short laugh escaped her as she opened her eyes, turning to look at him, meeting his dark eyes.

"Sorry, it sounds stupid." She apologized, though his silence said nothing to her. In fact, he shook his head.

"It's not stupid."

Raising a brow, Kagami eyed him.

"It's not?"

"No. Honestly…I felt the same." He paused, smiling to himself as he looked away from her, his eyes trailing to the blue skies. "I wanted to see how strong you were too. I was surprised that you decided to volunteer when Sakura said she couldn't do it." He admitted, recalling the look at Sakura's face. He was in disbelief with the rosette girl. The time when he was finally called up to spar, she turned him down. Because what…? Because she had a crush on him?

Kagami chuckled softly, recalling that same moment as well. "Well, I was impatient. Sakura-chan didn't want to go, so I thought, if I had to fight anyone, fighting you would probably be the most fun." She said to him, looking away as well and looking into the sky.

"Well…you were pretty good. I was surprised you kept up." He said. She laughed at that, confidently assuring him. "Of course."

Silence fell between the two once more. It wasn't a few minutes later that Itachi had returned, getting held up by his mother to help with something in the house. He had arrived just as his father and Lord Hito, coming to pick up his daughter. Instead, the three saw Sasuke and Kagami under the tree, fast asleep with Kagami leaning slightly on the boy.

This would be a secret that the three would keep from those two, seeing as they would make a big fuss of it later.

* * *

Months later, the days went on normally. Almost every day after school, Sasuke and Kagami would head to one of the training grounds and spar with each other. During class, they would talk to one another, seeing as they both were easily bored by the day's discussion. They scored high on each quiz and test that came their way, along with Shikamaru, though not everyone was impressed.

They were at the top of the class. Sasuke had grown more popular among the girls while Kagami had continued to talk with Shikamaru, Kiba and Naruto normally.

It was this day in particular, a rather rainy day that the class focused on Iruka who called for attention, as per usual.

"Alright, so, next week will be your final exams. You'll get tested on whether or not you guys will become genin." He said. The class burst in whispers and chatter. Kagami had been one of the few, turning to Sasuke who leaned forward, resting his face against his laced fingers that were propped on the desk.

"It's finally that time." She whispered. Sasuke nodded.

"Good. I've been getting annoyed with the class." Kagami laughed, nodding as she too felt the same way.

"Be prepared. I'll let you go early so you can get prepared. Dismissed." Iruka said aloud, grabbing his notes and taking his leave. Kagami was about to turn to Sasuke, asking if he was going to train today, but he was interrupted by Naruto who called out to her.

"Ka-ga-mi-chaaaaan!" He dragged her name, grinning to her. "Wanna get some ramen today?" The violet haired girl turned, smiling as she nodded. "Sure!" Feeling rather hungry for the hot bowl of noodles.

Turning slightly to Sasuke, she gave him a wave. "See you later, Sasuke-kun."

He nodded to her, watching as she and Naruto quickly left the classroom. Quietly, Sasuke attempted to make his leave as well, though he was stopped by one of the girls, standing with Sakura and Ino.

"Sasuke-kun! How come you're always with that girl!?"

"Yeah! Are you guys friends or something?"

"Do you like her?"

The raven was bombarded with pointless questions, finding himself irritated as he pushed through the girls. It was none of their business on why he was with Kagami. If anything, the fact that they had the gall to question him as if he had done something wrong was what annoyed him. Sasuke continued on, leaving the classroom, much to the dismay of the girls.

Leaving the building, he held his umbrella close, looking at the darkened sky as the rain grew heavier.

Why was it so wrong to be with Kagami so much?

* * *

"Another bowl, please!" Naruto said happily, stacking his third bowl in his pile. Kagami had just finished her first bowl, already full.

"How do you eat that much and not blow up?" She joked, amazed by the blonde's eating ability. He grinned, turning to her.

"Ehhh…I'm just really hungry today that's all!" He said, though she knew that was just an understatement.

Suddenly, there was a loud thunder that echoed throughout the village. Kagami had jumped. The rain seemed to pour, making the young girl hop off from the stool, leaving behind some money. "I better head home now, Naruto-kun." She said, grabbing her umbrella from the small container than held other customers' umbrellas as well. Naruto turned, noodles in his mouth as he waved.

"See you!" She said, smiling as she went into the rain. The rain had hit her umbrella heavily, causing her to sigh as she walked quickly.

She had kept her eyes straight ahead, paying no mind to the people that passed by her. It didn't seem like the rain was going to let up anytime soon. Frowning to herself, she continued, wondering what Sasuke would be doing since the rain came down and she had left to eat with the blonde. Would he still train at home maybe?

Without realizing it, Kagami had led herself to the training grounds that she and Sasuke frequent. "Ha…it's by memory now." She said to herself, turning from the gates to leave. At least, she would…until she heard a familiar sound.

She could sense someone's chakra within the training area. Curious, she opened the gates, walking through it. Hitting the wet grass, the girl continued, looking around to see just who was out here. Suddenly, she jumped, startled by someone yelling.

"Katon: Fire Ball jutsu!"

"Sasuke-kun…?" She mumbled, turning to see Sasuke in the clearing, blowing a fire-ball at one of the dummies. The flames died down from the rain, so there was no harm to his surroundings. A grin came to her face as she walked over to the boy, waiting for him to turn to her.

"Kagami?"

"What are you doing here?" She asked him. Her eyes noticed just how drenched he was, his belongings under a tree to keep them from the rain.

"Training. Unlike you." He joked, placing a hand on his cocked hip. She huffed in response.

"I went to go eat with Naruto-kun since it's…you know _raining_." She teased the Uchiha, who shrugged.

"Shouldn't let that deter you from getting better."

Kagami smiled, realizing that he was right. She moved under the tree with his things, folding her umbrella back up and laid it with his other belongings. Stepping fully into the rain, she could feel her body grow cold.

"Alright, let's do it." Her confidence spoke for her as she readied her. Sasuke smirked, readying himself before launching himself towards her.

The two exchanged various punches and kicks, taking several hits here and there from each other. Their breathing became hard, feeling the rain and the cold air combining. At this rate, the two were drenched head to toe. At several distance from one another, the two looked at each other, catching their breaths before performing the same hand signs.

At the same time, they shouted, "Katon: Great Fireball!"

Heat filled the air as a red and blue ball of flame hurled towards each other, eventually joining as one, becoming a ball a mixture of blue and red flames before dispersing from the rain.

Tired, the two gave one another a smirk, pleased with their attack. Kagami slowly moved towards Sasuke, who did the same realizing just how exhausted he was and how much chakra he used up to that point.

Eventually, the two fell beside one another, laying under the rain, shoulder to shoulder.

"We should…probably…" Kagami tried to say through her breaths, closing her eyes as she knocked out.

* * *

The following day, the two were both sick in their beds at home. Itachi had gone out to find his young brother, along with Okani who had been enjoying their time together. When word came from their parents that their siblings were late, the two set out to find them.

Luckily, they had found the two, soaked to the bone in the training grounds. They were taken back home, given a hot bath and set to bed. It was soon after that they both had a high fever.

"I can't believe you guys though training out in the rain like that was smart." Okani said, wringing out a wet towel to place on her sister's forehead as she coughed.

"I know."

"What were you guys thinking?!" She questioned her sister, who didn't say anything.

"We just wanted to train together." Her voice was innocent, earning Okani a roll of her eyes.

"You guys had other days to train. Sheesh. Both you and Sasuke-kun now I have a high fever and will miss a few days." Her scolding seemed to be ignored by Kagami as she closed her eyes, falling back to sleep.

Turning, Okani noticed her sister didn't rebuttal. Instead, she shook her head and turned the lights off. "What are we going to do with you two?" She whispered, sliding the door closed as she went to her own room.


	4. Chapter 4 - Examination

Conflicting Hearts

* * *

"Aww, today is the big day!" Okani's voice rang as she bounced alongside her sister. With her hair in her a high ponytail, wearing the usual jounin attire, the elder sister followed the tiny violet girl.

"Yes I know, for the hundredth time you've stated, Oneesan." Kagami replied as she walked normally. It was another clear morning. The sun had peaked through the thin clouds that hovered above, reassuring that today would be just another nice day. Meanwhile, the two sisters had walked along the usual path that lead to the academy.

Ever since that day where she and Sasuke had trained in the storm, the two had seemingly gotten closer. It practically became the norm for the two to walk with their older sibling to the three-way point. There, they would meet with each other and walk the rest of the way together to the academy.

Okani and Itachi were endlessly teasing the two, claiming they like each other so much. That idea would be pushed from the two's minds as they immediately denied it, claiming that they were just sparring partners.

But not once had they claimed each other as friends.

Kagami had been in her thoughts, going over what was to be expected during the examination. She had no reason to stress over it, as she and Sasuke were at the top of the class. Perhaps it was just the nerves getting to her, but then again, she couldn't really say. But then she remembered just why she was nervous.

She had to face Sasuke again.

This time, she may just lose…then what? Does she lose her chance at becoming a genin? Shaking the thoughts from her head to ease her worries, Kagami looked up to her sister, asking,

"Do you think it'll be okay?"

Okani, surprised by such a question, looked at Kagami, curious eyes watching her. She saw her sister's expression, one of concern and uncertainty. A small smile crawled to Okani's face as she nodded. "It will be fine. Just do your best! You'll be amazing!" She cheered on the little girl, who nodded, a small smile coming to her face.

"Ah, Okani-san." Itachi's voice carried, seeing as he and Sasuke had reached the three-way split a few minutes before the two.

Okani's expression had changed as well as she smiled brightly, nodding to the older Uchiha. "Ahh, good morning, Itachi-san!" She said happily, looking down to Sasuke who had stood patiently.

"And good morning to you, kiddo." She said to him, still smiling. Sasuke had nodded, looking at her plainly. "Good morning, Okani-san."

"Sasuke-kun." Kagami said softly, his eyes quickly falling on hers. She nodded in greeting, earning one in return from him as she walked to his side.

"You guys are going to do amazing! Good luck!"

"Yes, do your best. It'll be easy." Itachi assured the two, who slightly nodded, turning away from the two and headed towards the academy.

As they walked away, Okani turned to Itachi once more, her eyes leaving her sister's back. "So, Itachi-san?"

"Hm?"

"Guess what I heard from Kakashi-san?" She slyly asked, receiving a curious look from him.

"What did you hear?"

"It sounds like you and I have a date! And by date," She crossed her arms, pleased with the announcement she was going to make.

"..I mean a mission. Let's get going, you cutie!" Okani freed her arms, turning the Uchiha around and started to push him.

* * *

The two walked silently with each other. Both preoccupied with the thoughts of the exam today. Kagami took every few chances to glance at Sasuke, seeing if he had any worried expression on his face. She was disappointed, only to find his usual stoic expression.

"You know, we're going to fight again." Sasuke broke the silence, keeping his eyes straight ahead. Kagami nodded, looking forward as well.

"I do." Replying plainly, she smiled to herself, craning her neck to look at him. "I look forward to it." She finished, turning back to the road, earning a smirk as Sasuke's response. He was glad that she felt the same way he did.

Before reaching the academy, however, Kagami's name had been called from afar. Stopping in their tracks, the two turned around to see Shikamaru, Kiba and Naruto walking over to them. A smile came to her face as she waved at them.

"Guys! Are we all ready for today?!" She asked cheerfully. It seemed that she was only one with such a chipper attitude this early in the moment. Lucky for her, Kiba and Naruto chimed in with her.

"You bet! You guys are going to see just how strong I got this past year!" Kiba confidently stated, Akamaru who rested on his head barked with him, cheering for his partner. Naruto scoffed, pointing to himself with his thumb as he declared,

"Just watch the amazing Uzumaki Naruto show you how it's done! I'll be hokage in no time!" His enthusiasm had earned chuckles from the group as they continued onwards, wasting no more time.

It had been a fast year for the group of kids. While they trained hard for the past year, they hoped that their hard work would pay off. Most especially Naruto. Kagami had learned of the blonde's life-goal back when she first met him, finding his dreams to be farfetched seeing as most of the time she saw him running away from jounins with a bucket of paint. He was known to graffiti countless areas and prank so many people that naturally, the villagers saw him as a nuisance.

Regardless of his countless mischievous acts, Kagami just didn't have the heart to turn her back to him. Even Kiba and Shikamaru began to talk to Naruto more and even became friends to him, something that relieved Kagami. She didn't have to worry about other kids jumping him as before since he was always with someone.

Knowing that Naruto had no family to turn to, Kagami couldn't help but want to be there for him. She had felt, deep down, he wasn't a bad person. Okani had agreed with her younger sister's feelings and even rooted for her for being such a nice girl. Their father, on the other hand, just kept telling her and Okani that the kid was bad news and to stay away from him.

Much to his dismay, Kagami did the exact opposite.

Her father had been okay with her being close with the Inuzuka and Nara boys, but the mysterious orphan blonde was something she had to steer clear of. Ignoring her father's wishes, she wasn't going to leave Naruto like that. After all, they were friends!

But what about the Uchiha?

Her father had grown used to Kagami being out with the raven almost all the time, whether over his house or at the training grounds for, well, training. Okani had also gotten close to Itachi, but her father had thought of it as just his teen daughter being a lovesick puppy, thinking nothing more of it.

Continuing their parade, the three kept on cheering each other on, followed then by provoking one another. Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Sasuke had walked behind the group, quiet as ever. The two had no quarrels with one another, but they weren't exactly friends either, compared to their relationship to Kagami. She had been good friends with each of them. If anything, they considered her good company.

"Finally! Let's get go guys!" Kiba said to the group as they arrived at the academy at last. "Last one in won't pass!" He added, making a quick dash for the doors.

"Hey, cheater!" Kagami cried out, following the brunette, hearing Akamaru's barks of cheer.

"H-Hey!" Naruto was last to go, trying to keep up.

Much to their dismay, Kiba had beat the two, Kagami coming in at strong second and Naruto last. A frowned came to the blonde's face as he crossed his arms.

"I'm gonna pass!" He huffed to Kiba, who laughed, nodding as he went to take his usual seat. Akamaru was quick to jump off his partner's head and onto the desk where he laid down.

Shikamaru and Sasuke slowly trickled in, not caring for the three's banter as they immediately went to take their seats.

Kagami turned to Naruto, offering him a thumbs up and smiling,

"You'll definitely pass! I believe in you!"

It was amazing on what this girl's positivity did for the whiskered boy. It was truly a miracle. Now with a boosted morale and esteem, Naruto nodded in response, grinning big as he always did. "You're right! You'll pass too, Kagami-chan! I'll be rooting for you all the way!"

Afterall, it was the least he could do for the girl who had saved him a year ago and even became friends with him.

Little did what people know, Kagami had actually helped Naruto out a lot this past year. When she wasn't with the Uchiha, she was out with him and occasionally the other two boys. She would join Naruto (and occasionally Iruka-sensei) when they would go to Ichiraku's for a bowl or five. She would try to convince the blonde to train with her, though he would only for a little while, he wasn't as serious about it as Sasuke was.

Iruka-sensei had entered the class within the few minutes the group had entered. Kagami had shuffled, taking her usual seat next to the raven boy. The air had been tensed, seeing everyone stressed for the genin exams. It was, apparently, one of the easiest test any shinobi takes, yet this was what truly allowed one to enter into the shinobi world. This allowed them to be put into teams and join missions that could endanger themselves.

"Good morning everyone! I hope you are all prepared for today. We'll have three different testing methods. First off, we'll start with ninjutsu skills. We'll go by rows," He indicated as the class was already divided into two sections, followed by tiered seating, rising upwards. "then afterwards, we'll perform an accuracy test. Finally, you'll face the person you fought earlier this year."

A year has gone by already?

Without really realizing, Kagami had sat quietly, accepting that a year had gone and left. For almost a year, she and Sasuke had been training countless times. It was months ago where the two were caught in the rain, bringing a sense of time to the violet haired girl. Wasn't it springtime now, then?

"How it'll work is this. You only need to pass two of the three exams. What determines if you pass the spar is I will see if you have improved during your fight. Simple, right?" Iruka said to class. On cue, the children turned to each other, bursting into chatters as their nerves raked over them.

"Oi,oi! Okay, let's get started. We'll start on the right side of the room, work our way up, then cross over to the other section." The right side of the room had meant Kagami and Sasuke's side, much to Naruto's dismay as he really wanted to show off his skills.

"Alright! Let's begin!"

* * *

"This is taking forever." Kagami groaned, leaning her cheek into a loose fist she made, her elbow propped up onto the table. She and Sasuke had watched blankly the students go up. Shikamaru and Kiba had nailed a kage bushin easily, as well as the substitute jutsu. They were simple skills that any shinobi should have down.

Meanwhile, Naruto had watched each student go. He was sweating, frantic about going up there. He had his own doubts flooding his mind, though he had tried to coax himself that he would pass easily. What if he didn't? What if he didn't get to see Kagami anymore because of it? Or even Shikamaru and Kiba?

 _Kagami's training would've been for nothin' then!_ He yelled at himself mentally, turning around to see a bored Abaharashi, waiting for her turn. Her mouth moved, assumingly talking to Sasuke, the raven that seemed to annoy Naruto to no end. When the blonde would see him, if he wasn't with Kagami or his brother, he was very quiet and kept to himself.

Minutes ticked by slowly. So far, all the students who had gone up had passed, performing each jutsu with ease. Next up was the last back row, which had only consisted of Sasuke and Kagami. The two got up, walking towards the stairs and headed to the head of the class.

"Look at Sasuke, he's so cool!"

"That blue looks really nice on him!"

"I can't believe he sat with that girl all year."

These were just some of the things Kagami had caught as she walked down the stairs, paying no attention to the whispers amongst the girls. She knew that Sakura and Ino were notorious for bugging the popular raven, throwing glares her way since she was the only girl who didn't go crazy over him constantly.

Sasuke was up first, waiting for Iruka to give him the run-down of what to do. Putting his hands together, he performed a clone. It had looked exactly like him, seeing no flaw and that the bushin didn't disappear immediately when touched, Iruka marked his clipboard. Next was the substitute. Easily, once again, the Uchiha had done it perfectly. Lastly, he had to transform into someone. Forming hand signs, Sasuke had transformed into Iruka.

"Alright. Pass." Iruka marked on his clipboard, motioning for the Uchiha to move back to his seat.

"Alright, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called out, causing Ino to cheer for him as well.

"Okay, Kagami-chan." Iruka said to the girl, who turned to the class. Her eyes travelled to Shikamaru and Kiba, who had at the front row. Kiba had smiled, giving her a thumbs-up and mouthing, 'you got this'. Shikamaru only stared plainly at her, nodding to her. Her eyes then turned to Naruto, having Iruka's instruction go in one ear and out the other. It had been the same thing to each student, so she already knew the drill. Naruto, meanwhile, was grinning widely to her.

A small smile came to her as she was signaled to start.

Putting her hands together, she performed the kage bushin jutsu. It had been perfect, no surprise. Iruka had poked the clone, assuring it wouldn't disappear on impact as he did before. Marking it down, he signaled for her to continue. A substitution jutsu was fine as well. Lastly, Kagami had turned into her sister, as her transformation jutsu. Iruka looked at her, nodding. "Okani-san, huh?" He said, rather familiar with the older Abaharashi sibling.

"Mhm." Kagami nodded, undoing the jutsu as Iruka marked on his clipboard. "Pass."

Smiling to herself, the girl headed back to her seat. "That was too easy." She said to Sasuke, who looked at her, nodding. "I agree." She plopped herself down, watching boringly once more at the other students who were to go. It wasn't until Naruto had went that her attention perked up.

Taking a deep breath, the orange and blue clad blonde prepared himself. He looked at the class, grinning as Iruka signaled him to begin.

His kage bushin, once the cloud cleared, had been laying on the floor. It didn't take a true form, really, seeing it was similar to a dead ragdoll on the floor. A few laughs here and there came from the class. Grinning nervously, Naruto went ahead and did a substitute jutsu…except…that didn't go well either. Everyone had substituted themselves with a log, as it was the easiest to do. For some reason, he had substituted himself for, well, the bushin he just made.

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled, "Do you know the difference between the jutsus!?" Wincing, Naruto waved his hand, "Don't worry, my transformation will be great!" He said, performing the hand signs and transforming.

Once the fog had somewhat cleared, Naruto had transformed himself into a female version of…well…himself. Long blonde pigtails, with a rather curvaceous chest, one that the fog luckily covered. "How's this, Iruka-sensei~" Naruto had purred, sounding like an innocent girl. Blushing madly and nearly getting a nosebleed, their sensei smacked Naruto with the clipboard. "Fail!"

A gasp came from the students, most especially Kagami. Sasuke had craned his neck, seeing the worried expression from the violet haired girl as she watched Naruto. "That idiot." She whispered, shaking her head.

* * *

The class had moved outside, where the last two parts of the exam will be held. So far, everyone but Naruto had passed, making the blonde frown to himself. He tried to mentally convince himself that he would do great at these last two tests. That's all he needed to pass, anyways.

This part had been faster, given three shuriken and three kunais, the class had been instructed to throw them, aiming for the 6 targets that were spread out. As long as you hit at least 2 out of 6, you passed. Everyone had gone, gradually, passing so far. "I wish we can just skip to the fight, already." Kagami said, crossing her arms as she waited for her turn.

"You're telling me." Kiba was the one who replied, yawning as he had Akamaru in his jacket. Shikamaru had been quiet with Sasuke who had his hands in his light beige shorts.

The Uchiha had been next up, taking the weapons and throwing them. Hitting all targets, no one was really surprised, though he did earn several cheers from his fanbase. Rolling her eyes, Kagami looked over to Shikamaru and Kiba, who shrugged. "They are unbelievable." She said to them. How they passed the first part, she will never know, but it was getting a little annoying with their constant cheering.

When Kagami was called next minutes later, after Shikamaru and Kiba had gone, she had taken the tools and thrown them as well with ease. This had been one of the first things she did when she trained with her sister. It was easy, at least, she thought so. Landing on all targets, she was deemed the next highest score in the class along with Sasuke. Others had hit, at most, five targets. With flying colors, as usual, the girl was unimpressed.

Naruto, who had been quiet, had gone next. Doing the same. He had thought, if he copied how Sasuke or Kagami threw, he would land on the targets, right? He grinned, performing the same motion the two did when he threw the weapons. He looked up, seeing that…he had missed each one.

"E-Eh…" He fumbled, earning a deep sigh from Iruka who marked the clipboard.

Things were not looking good.

* * *

"Alright. Let's finish up with the final part. We'll start off with Sakura and Ino. Then Shikamaru and Chouji, followed by Naruto and Kiba, Hinata and Tenten, Lee and Shino, Neji and Juna," Some other names were listed, some that Kagami didn't really know too well. "Finally, Sasuke and Kagami."

After given the long run-down of the matches, Iruka had finally motioned for the first match to go. Some students opted to sit down, others remained standing. They were farther back to the building, unlike the first time they sparred. Iruka had walked to the two girls, telling them and also the class, "It's a free for all fight. You may use any jutsus or weapons. Don't get too carried away, though. If it looks like you're going to kill one another, I'll stop the fight." He told them, hoping that no one really went out of the way to do so.

After all, they weren't even genin, what could they possibly do?

The first match began, the two girls exchanging various hits. Sakura had performed several substitution jutsus, managing to land a kick to Ino's back. The girl had fallen with a thud, though quick to get back up, taking a kunai out of her pouch and heading towards the pink haired girl.

Kagami had sat next to Naruto, this time, with Kiba on his other side, and Shikamaru on hers, followed by Sasuke. Their eyes watched with interest, seeing Sakura, at first, with the upper hand. "Ehh…Sakura-chan is doing pretty well." Naruto commented, watching the pink haired girl. His eyes had followed the girl's movement, his attention the pinkette had piqued Kagami's interest. She had a feeling that Naruto had liked the girl one way or another. She didn't really blame him. Some other boys in the class often commented on how bright her personality was or how her hair complimented the red dress that she usually wore. Maybe it was just a thing Kagami had against her, finding her rather bothersome and pushy with how she was with the Uchiha boy.

"Good job you two." Iruka said aloud, returning Kagami to focus on the two girls. The fight had come to a close, deeming that Ino had the upper hand overall. They both had pass, proving that they did improve since their first battle. Naruto had clapped, cheering for Sakura, though the girl only glared at him, finding him rather annoying. Instead, when Iruka was calling up Shikamaru and Chouji, Sakura had bounced to Sasuke, asking him how she did. Kagami couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Sasuke had kept to himself, not bothering with the girl as he looked straight on, watching as the two boys prepared for their spar. Sakura, feeling ignored, had went to talk to Ino instead. What didn't surprise Kagami was that Sasuke had turned to her, giving her a look of annoyance. She grinned slyly. "What? Didn't like your fangirl wanting your approval, Sasuke-kun?" She said his name with the same tone Sakura did, only earning a groan from the raven.

"Shut up." He said to her, though in a light tone, knowing she was only teasing.

"Alright. Begin!" Iruka called, bringing the attention of the audience once more as Shikamaru and Chouji began their fight.

The two were known friends. Being close to one another while they were little, Shikamaru and Chouji were best pals. Though Shikamaru had found himself with Kiba and Naruto's company more-so, the two were often seen with each other at random parts of the day, just out eating and talking.

"I bet you Chouji is going to win!" Naruto moved close to Kagami, whispering to her. She shook her head. "Nuh uh. Shikamaru will win." She replied confidently. He looked at her closely. "Let's bet on it. If Chouji beats him, you owe me ramen. And if you win, I'll buy you ramen."

"Deal." The two had fist-bumped together, sealing their silly bet as they watched the battle continue. Kagami knew how Shikamaru was. While he was lazy and preferred to nap, he was quite smart and quick on his feet. She saw this before and here she was seeing it in action once more. For the most part, the two fought hand to hand. It had been interesting to watch with how quick their movements were, and while Kagami knew of Shikamaru's ways of fighting, she didn't know Chouji's all that much since she never really talked to him so much. She knew that he was Shikamaru's best friend and all, but she never made an attempt to really get to know him.

In the end, after ten or so minutes, Shikamaru managed to cast his Shadow Imitation jutsu, a known technique of the Nara clan. "Wooah." Escaped the violet girl as she leaned forward, watching his shadow reach out to Chouji who became immobilized. Iruka, noticing this, had called the battle to end. "While the winner of the match is Shikamaru, you both pass. You both did a great job in improving yourselves. Well done." He commended the two, writing on his board before continuing the matches.

"Looks like you owe me a nice shoyu ramen." Kagami told Naruto, turning her neck and smiling mischievously at him. Naruto had dropped his head, knowing that a deal was a deal and there was no way out of this one. "Fine!" He said to her, standing up as he and Kiba were next.

The two boys walked to the open area, hearing behind them an optimistic Kagami. "Good luck you two! Do your best!" As Iruka had set the ground rules with them, she turned over to Shikamaru, who plopped down with a sigh. "Man, that was a drag." He said, feeling lousy already. "Eh. You were only up for ten minutes! How are you tired already?!" She exclaimed, though he shrugged. It was a silly question that didn't need an answer.

Naruto and Kiba had eyed each other, both smiling with their brows furrowed. This was a spar between friends, Kagami knew this. There were no hard feelings in who won or lost, but simply showing how one had improved. Leaning back, placing her hands on the grass behind her, she watched lazily as the two started to battle. Much to the girl's dismay, she watched as Naruto had been forced onto the defense once again.

Not wanting to cheer for him and not Kiba, as to show any favoritism, she opted to silence herself, watching with interest.

"C'mon, Naruto! Fight back!" Kiba told him as he showered the blonde with several hits. It only took a few moments before Naruto countered one of his punches, throwing one and landing a hit. The two had jumped back, throwing a shuriken at each other, only for Naruto get nicked on his arm and Kiba on his leg, thanks to Naruto's aiming that was completely off.

Finally, their fight had come to an eventual close. Kiba managed to hit Naruto enough to force him to dodge some hits and only countering. At this point, Iruka had deemed it that the fight wasn't exactly going anywhere and had called that Kiba was the winner. "However." Iruka said, turning to Naruto as he frowned. "I'm sorry, Naruto, unlike Kiba, there wasn't much improvement on your end that was demonstrated…" He needn't say anymore, as the blonde looked down, returning to his seat and not wanting to hear anymore. Kiba had frowned as well, feeling bad for his friend as he went to his seat too.

The next round came, though Kagami had shifted her focus on the upset Naruto. The girl reached out to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. His eyes were focused on the ground, not daring to look up. He knew that Kagami's hand was the one on him, though he didn't say anything. Furrowing her brows, the young girl told him, "Hey…it's okay—"

"No it's not." He snapped. He knew it wasn't okay. It's not even remotely okay, because this was the first step into becoming a shinobi. For him, it was a small step in becoming the Hokage. "It's not just, okay, you know?! It's something major, Kagami-chan. Okay! It's not like I can just pass everything easily like you or that teme." He spoke harshly, his words biting into her.

"Naruto-kun, I…" Kagami lost herself with words, silencing herself as she pulled her hand back and placed it on her lap. Feeling suddenly upset now for the blonde, she kept to herself, eyes focusing on the next match. Shikamaru had watched the two, sighing to himself as he knew the girl meant well, but Naruto was just beyond upset with himself, and that wasn't her fault. Sasuke also had watched the scene, narrowing his eyes as he watched the violet haired girl become quiet, not wanting to continue the conversation further.

Sasuke knew that Kagami was friends with Naruto. Hell, he knew she was friends with Kiba and Shikamaru, so he could understand just why she would be bothered. But seeing her upset, something he rarely saw of her, had bugged him.

Why?

* * *

The second to last match had just finished, with the two students passing. It had finally come down to the match that some had been curious about; Kagami and Sasuke. The last time they had battled, the class was amazed by how Kagami had kept up with the prestige Uchiha boy. Everyone knew that he was as strong and skilled as the family name suggested, yet, they were rather curious about the Abaharashi child. While the name was a well-known to the children, they knew that the family had no special kekkei genkai. There was no secret family technique. The only thing that made them special aside from their strong steeled weapons that were handcrafted was the mystical azure flames that they used when they casted fire style jutsus.

"Finally, our last match of the day. Kagami and Sasuke." Iruka-sensei had called out, forcing the raven to stand up, though he saw that Kagami had stared blankly ahead. _What is this idiot doing?! Is she still that upset?_ Sasuke had thought to himself. Watching her make no move, he called out, "Oi, Kagami." The girl jumped, turning herself slowly as she looked up at him, her eyes seemingly innocent.

"Huh?"

"Get up. It's our turn." Sasuke told her, watching her slowly stand up.

The two walked forward, facing each other. Iruka's voice seemed to fade in and out to Kagami as she stared at Sasuke. She wasn't chipper about facing him as she was earlier. No, she was clearly distressed. She didn't understand why, but feeling pained by Naruto's snapping seemed to have brought her down. She understood why he was upset, she truly did, yet why did she still feel horrible?

"Begin!" Iruka called out. Sasuke had readied himself in a stance, crouching slightly as he looked at Kagami. The girl made no move, confusing Iruka who looked at Sasuke then the girl. "Uh, Kaga—" "It's okay, Iruka-sensei." Sasuke assured him, and in a flash, had a kunai to her throat. Had anyone blinked, it would've been missed, surely, with how quick the raven went. Kagami only breathed shallowly, not moving an inch to the sudden movement.

Annoyed, Sasuke hissed at her, "Get it together, Kagami!"

Her eyes widened, looking at Sasuke as his eyes were narrowed, looking down at her. His eyes had spoken to her, it seemed like. She blinked, realizing something.

She was an idiot.

"Sasuke…" She said lowly, and he jumped away from her, giving her enough space. Shaking her head, Kagami snapped herself out of the slump, refocusing herself as she reached for the kunai in her pouch that was strapped to her thigh.

 _I'll worry about him later._ The young girl told herself as she moved, just as quick, clashing her kunai with Sasuke's. The battle had officially started.

* * *

"Kagami seems to be off." Shikamaru commented, Kiba leaned forward, turning his head to the boy.

"Whaddya mean?" He questioned, having Akamaru rest in his lap. The dog whined a bit but continued his little rest.

"Look. You can tell by the way she's fighting right now." He explained. Kiba turned back to the fight, paying attention to Kagami as he noticed how she seemed as if she was actually struggling. He knew that she was on par with the Uchiha, hell, it seemed everyone knew that she was. They were rumored to be training with each other often enough that there was no telling on who would win their rematch.

Noticing her change, he turned to Naruto, who was still quiet and not looking at the match. Annoyed, the Inuzuka elbowed the blonde's arm, getting him to look up at him.

"What?" He questioned. Earning a nod to the fight from Kiba.

"Looks like you hurt Kagami's feelings." Kiba told him, watching as Naruto's blue eyes travelled to the young girl. He saw that she was taking more hits than she did in the previous match with Sasuke.

"Didn't you notice she didn't immediately fight?" Shikamaru asked the blonde, though he shook his head.

"She was in a daze. Something I rarely see her do. She's usually focused, but it looks like your yelling got her distracted." Shikamaru explained, keeping his eyes on the fight.

Naruto had felt some guilt within him. He didn't mean to snap at Kagami…but it just wasn't okay. That's what she was going to say to him, and he just couldn't accept that. He was pissed off at himself, now for one more reason.

Biting his lip, the blonde shot up, trying to shake this negative feeling he had, and shouted to the girl,

"You can do it, Kagami-chan!"

* * *

"Naruto-kun?!" Kagami whispered, turning her head slightly to see the blonde giving a grin and cheering for her. Seeing this, she brightened up, her eyes narrowing as she clashed kunai's again with Sasuke. She pulled away, backflipping away from him as she threw the kunai towards him.

Sasuke's eyes watched, the knife, side-stepping to dodge it, though heard her voice yell.

"Katon: Dragon's Breath!" Kagami's voice rang, blowing blue flames towards the raven through her fingers.

"Tch!" He tried to dodge, getting some burns on his leg. Landing on one of the trees surrounding them, his eyes went to where the girl stood last, finding her disappeared.

Instead, Kagami was above him, bringing down her twin short swords down on him. Though she hit him, she was met with a substitution jutsu.

"Damn!" She cursed, having her swords lodged into the thick tree branch. She swung herself forward, then back, flipping onto said branch as she saw him below her, casting handsigns as well before throwing a fireball at her.

"Katon: Great Fireball!"

Watching as the ball hurled to her, Kagami, grabbed her swords, pulling them up from the branch as the blades were now behind her, she hurled herself towards the fire ball.

Iruka's eyes widened, realizing that the fight was getting rather dangerous than he expected. "O-Oi!" He called out, though Kagami disappeared through the ball, getting several burns, she had hurled herself fast enough to break through the ball, arriving on the other side, and clashing her blades with Sasuke's kunais that he had quickly drawn.

"T-That's enough!" Iruka called out, the two however did not stop.

No, they continued to battle, clashing kunai to sword. It wasn't until Kagami had jumped back, sheathing her blades and running towards him, pulling her arm back for a punch. Sasuke, smirking, had thrown his kunai to the grass and waited for her punch, dodging slightly, before countering with a punch of his own. This too, was countered by her, and they had exchanged a series of punches and kicks before finally, Iruka walked up to the two, annoyed that he was ignored.

Once the two were apart once again, Iruka stepped between them, eyeing the two before they could run at each other.

"I said that was enough." He spat, looking at each of them. They were both pretty banged up, though Kagami had gotten the worse of it, having her thrown herself through the fireball, something that Iruka didn't even think was possible.

"You both pass. You have proven yourselves enough." He said to them, calling for the class' attention after.

"Alright, your headbands are inside the classroom. Once you get them, you can leave!" Iruka told them, heading inside first with the class following.

Sasuke had smirked at Kagami, seeing her all dirtied and somewhat burned.

"I'm surprised you went through the fire." He said to her, the two were the last to enter the building as they walked side by side.

Kagami nodded, wincing a bit as she felt the stinging hit her. "I regret it a lot now." She said lightly.

Once they were in the classroom, they quickly grabbed their headbands. Some had worn the headbands in unique ways. While Sasuke opted for the traditional way to wear it, Kagami wore it on her arm, similar to Shikamaru. Sakura had worn it as a headband while Ino wore it on her waist. The kids had talked to each other as they slowly left the building.

Kagami had walked with Kiba, Shikamaru and Sasuke, exiting the building only to look around, her eyes scanning the area.

"Where's Naruto-kun?" She questioned, not seeing the blonde anywhere.

"Ah, I think he left right when we got into the classroom." Kiba said, honestly unsure of where the blonde went. "He didn't say anything though."

Frowning, Kagami wondered if he left because he didn't want to see anyone with their headbands. Feeling suddenly upset, she walked quietly beside the boys.

* * *

Later that evening, Kagami had been sitting in her room. After her return and her sister's cheering and celebration, she had gone to her room, deciding to patch her own self up and caring for her short swords.

They were forged by her father, decorated with a ribbon on the hilt that her mother had chosen for her. It was made just before her mother's sudden death. Her mother, when she wasn't in Konoha, had actually helped manage the mining that took place at a hidden mountain away from the village. There had been an accident, and a rockslide occurred, her mother and some other miners had been caught.

Those were days that Kagami didn't want to remember, though she did have a picture of the woman beside her bed.

Suddenly, her sliding door was opened, revealing a frantic Okani.

"Kaga-chan!" She yelled, her little sister raised a brow.

"What?"

"Have you seen Naruto-kun? I mean after you left school, did you see him?!" She questioned, earning a shake from her little sister.

"No. Kiba told me he left when we were getting our headbands."

Letting out an irritated groan, Okani left the door open, heading towards the front door.

"Wait, why?" Kagami yelled, getting up, dropping her blades as she followed her sister, who was in a hurry.

"He stole a forbidden scroll and now he's on the run. We're looking for him right now!" Okani said, opening the door to leave. Kagami had slipped on her sandals, following her sister as she ran.

Okani craned her neck, yelling, "Oi! What are you doing?!" She yell, her sister trying to keep pace with her.

"I'm coming with you to find him!"

"Haaa? Are you insane!? He might turn against us! I don't want you to—"

"You're wrong! Naruto-kun isn't like that! I don't want to believe he stole something like that!" Kagami told her sister, following her as she ran.

The two sisters ended up at a split area, there one other jounin had just arrived as well.

"Kakashi-san!" Okani yelled out, the man turning to her.

"Okani-san…and uh…?" He looked at the shorter girl, resembling her sister as he put the two together.

"My sister is Naruto's friend. She just kind of tagged along. Anyways, did you find him?"

The white-haired male nodded.

"Iruka saw Naruto going into the woods and went after him. I was going to get you, but—"

"Which woods?! Where?!" Kagami yelled, her eyes full of worry. He pointed over where he had come from. "Outer part of the training grounds straight ahead."

Nodding, Kagami had went on ahead.

"Kaga-chan!" Okani yelled behind her, looking at Kakashi, as the two disappeared, hoping to reach Naruto in time.

* * *

Kagami had made it through the forest area, keeping quiet as she walked, looking for Iruka-sensei and Naruto. She still couldn't believe he had taken the scroll, much less was on the run. There had to be more than that right?

As she looked around, she heard a series of voices close by. Perhaps it was them?

Kagami walked slowly, seeing Naruto and Iruka and another figure. She crouched, crawling as she hid under a bush while watching the three talk. She was only a few feet away. She saw the orange clad boy holding close a large scroll, with Iruka on one side of him, and the other male on a tree branch above.

"Give me the scroll, Naruto!" The man barked, waiting for the blonde to give him what he wanted.

"Don't give it to him, Naruto! Mizuki will only use it for something evil. Just give me the scroll, and it'll be okay!" Iruka told the blonde who was confused on just who to listen to.

"Naruto. Do you know why the villagers hate you so much?" Mizuki questioned, Iruka's expression changing as he muttered, "Don't…"

Naruto shook his head, afraid to find out the reason on why he was shunned all these years. Why parents would move their kids away from the blonde when he would try to play with them.

Smirking, Mizuki had said in a cocky voice.

"It's because twelve years ago, there was an attack on the village. A large nine-tailed beast had gone rampant. It killed many people…Iruka's parents being some of them. The beast, however, was sealed away thanks to the yondaime. Do you know where the beast was sealed, Naruto?" He questioned.

Again, Naruto shook his head, beginning to tremble.

"You. The beast is inside you. Why else do you think Iruka-sensei hates you so much? _You carry the beast that killed his family._ "

Iruka yelled, shaking his head.

"That's not true! I don't hate Naruto at all! He wasn't the one…the one who killed my parents, it was the beast inside him!" The brown-haired man argued, turning to Naruto. "If anything, Naruto and I share a similar feeling. The need for attention. I had that too when I was younger!" Iruka yelled.

Kagami had placed both her hands over her mouth, keeping herself from letting out any noise as she was stunned with surprise.

Naruto held the kyuubi within him?

The girl knew very well of the attack on the village years ago, remember when her father told her of the incident. Though, now she understood why he was so keen on keeping her away from him. But now it made her wonder, why did Okani let her get close to the blonde?

At that point, Mizuki had thrown a large shuriken, aiming for Naruto, though Iruka was quick, taking the blow for him and having it impale his back.

He yelled, though he hovered over the blonde.

Iruka gave Naruto a weak smile, before telling him, "I don't hate you, Naruto. I truly believe in you."

Widening his eyes, Naruto watched as Iruka had fell over to his side, his back in pain. Suddenly, Kagami watched as her friend's expression change drastically. He was angry, eyeing Mizuki who had laughed finding it ridiculous that Iruka actually defended him. Without hesitation, Naruto put his hands together and yelled out, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Suddenly, the area was surrounded by countless perfect copies of Naruto.

Gasping into her hand, Kagami watched as Naruto had the clones attack Mizuki, beating him to a pulp. Minutes later, Mizuki had been leaning against a tree, with countless wounds dealt by Naruto's clones. The blonde and her teacher had talked quietly, exchanging words that Kagami couldn't exactly hear.

Suddenly, she watched Iruka had taken his headband off and giving it to Naruto. Her eyes widened, as she heard Iruka say loudly, "Congratulations, Naruto. You passed." The blonde grinned widely, tearing up a bit. Kagami had pushed herself off the ground, ruffling the bushes as she stood up, seeing Iruka and Naruto look at her.

"Naruto-kun!" She cried, running to the blonde. "You did it!"

* * *

 **A/N: Just wanted to give a heads up. So, though it's an AU, I will be incorporating some aspects from canon, such as that scene. Upcoming chapter with the kakashi test, and maybe some other aspects, just because I don't really want to go into depth about how characters acquire some skills in another way rather than the canon way (ie, naruto getting the multiple shadow clone jutsu). It's stressin me out trying to keep with personalities and some backstory, while still making it an AU. Okay. I'll go cry now. This has been the longest chapter, sitting over 7k words, 19 pages.**

Thank you and have a magical day


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